Dear Texas NRA Member:

This mailing is to inform you of important firearm-related issues in the Texas Legislature that deserve your personal attention. We also ask you, as an NRA member, to join and support the Texas State Rifle Association, the official "NRA State Association" for Texas.

The Texas Penal Code, since 1975, has contained "duty to retreat" language that would put you in legal jeopardy if you use a gun to defend your life. Your life and liberty could hang on a poorly worded and subjective definition of "reasonable". Ironically, Texas law does not require you to retreat if you are defending a third person, or your own property, only if you defend yourself! This is an outrage that must be removed once and for all. The TSRA is joining with the National Rifle Association to promote a "Castle Doctrine" in Texas, which will remove this onerous restriction from the books, and also remove the ability of criminals or their families to file nuisance lawsuits if they are injured or killed while committing a crime.

The TSRA/NRA team has made significant advances in the last few years in rolling back past attacks on our liberties, but much remains to be done. We need to look at our Emergency Powers laws, to ensure that the travesty of the gun confiscations that occurred in New Orleans never occurs in the Lone Star State! We need to change our laws to ensure that a Concealed Handgun License holder is allowed to carry a gun in his car, even on their employer's property, so that they can be protected during one of their most vulnerable times: during their commute to work.

The 80th Legislature is currently meeting in Austin. In addition to fighting to roll back gun laws passed by previous legislatures, we are having to fight off a couple of bad bills too. Representative Yvonne Davis of Dallas has introduced two bills that, if passed, would (1) set up a statewide registration system for handguns and limit purchases to one a month, and (2) so repressively regulate sales at gun shows that no gun show promoter in his right mind would ever host another one. In addition to the Brady Bunch and the Million Mom's March, we have found ourselves opposed by slick, well-financed groups such as the Texas Municipal League and associations of county prosecutors and trial lawyers. But make no mistake, despite their diversity, their goal is the same: the effective, absolute erasure of the Second Amendment in Texas.

Together the NRA and TSRA will confront and thwart these challenges, as we do during every session of the Legislature. The NRA and TSRA work together on many projects, and the NRA-ILA liaison teams with the TSRA Legislative Team to protect and promote the rights of Texas gun owners just like you. However, the TSRA's focus is on the legislative issues, special events, safety education and training programs specific to our great state. The TSRA is your premier organization in Austin with a full-time lobbying team guarding your liberties and the liberties of gun owners like you all across Texas!

That is why we are asking you to become a member of the TSRA. Our greatest strength is in our numbers. Every member makes our voice stronger in Austin. With every additional member, our chances of successfully defending your rights in Austin go up. By working together, we can overcome anything these anti-Constitution legislators and special interests throw at us!

For only $20 per year, your TSRA membership will provide you with information and assistance, including:

• A voice in the Texas Legislature
• A subscription to The Sportsman newsletter
• Regular updates on federal, state and local government and legislative issues
• Access to a regularly updated web page and an e-mail alert list
• Active and aggressive state AND federal political action committees (PACs)
• Education, training, hotel discounts and more
• An AD&D insurance policy for $2,000 for as long as you remain a member

In addition, the TSRA works to maintain an accurate, positive image of responsible gun owners like you, and is directly involved in events in and around Texas, including:

• Working with law enforcement, Texas Parks and Wildlife, schools and community groups
• Supplying pro-gun/pro-rights information to media outlets
• Sponsoring over 20 state shooting championships for juniors and adults
• Sustaining the TSRA George Tubb Memorial Range in Mineral Wells, Texas
• Awarding two annual scholarships at Texas A&M University

TSRA has fewer than 35,000 members in Texas. The NRA works hard to support its state affiliates, and the TSRA was recognized as the best in the nation when it was awarded the State Association of the Year Award in 2004. In Texas, NRA relies on the strength of the Texas State Rifle Association and its membership to preserve our rights that are so clearly written into our Constitution. As a Texan and as an NRA member, I encourage you to strengthen the great State of Texas and join the TSRA today!
To join the TSRA, simply go to our website at tsra.com, and click the link that says "Join Now!" Together, we can keep the Second Amendment in Texas safe and sound.

Sincerely,

"A country boy will survive"